Jonathan Lord , consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist 1, Nicola Packer , patient representative , Tonia Antoniazzi , member of parliament 3, Janet Barter , president , Lesley Regan , chair 5 1Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Treliske, Truro, UK 2Patient representative, London, UK 3House of Commons, London, UK 4Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare, London, UK 5Wellbeing of Women, London, UKDecriminalisation needed to protect women from persecutionCorrespondence to: J Lord j.lord@exeter.ac.ukAbortion is still a criminal offence in England and Wales, with access to abortion permitted under specific circumstances defined in the Abortion Act 1967. The gestation limit for most abortions in England is up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, and 10 weeks for self-administered medical abortion at home. She first attended Charing Cross Hospital from where she was redirected to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. During her incarceration she was denied access to painkillers and anticoagulation medication.1 The case took four and a half years to come to trial. LR is chair of the RCOG abortion taskforce, past president of RCOG, and women's health ambassador for EnglandProvenance and peer review: Commissioned; not externally peer reviewed.

Source: The Times June 16, 2025 14:12 UTC